Janelle Ragno

After receiving degrees in performance and pedagogy from Shenandoah University in Virginia and the University of Texas at Austin, Janelle Ragno completed her Doctor of Musical Arts degree at UT-Austin with renowned cello pedagogue Phyllis Young with whom she also served as a teaching assistant.  Her doctoral treatise is entitled “The Lutheran Hymn ‘Ein’ feste Burg’ in Claude Debussy’s Cello Sonata (1915): Motivic Variation and Transformation.”  Prof. Young also had Janelle assist her at the International String Workshops both in Biarritz, France, and Graz, Austria.  During her graduate studies she also received Suzuki training in both cello and violin.

An active performer, Janelle was a member of the Blue Ridge String Quartet which toured Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic, and in Austin performed as a chamber and orchestral musician at the International Festival-Institute at Round Top (Texas), played with the Mid-Texas Symphony and was a weekly soloist at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Austin.  Since moving to Vancouver in August 2008, Janelle has performed for the Unitarian Church of Vancouver, the International Day of the Francophonie 2009 , and formed the Cello Cieli duo with her husband, Andrew Luchkow which will play at the In the House Festival in June.  She also contracts chamber music for weddings and other events.

Janelle is also an accomplished cello teacher whose students have won several awards, been featured on television, and been accepted into university-level degree programs in cello performance.  In Austin she built a strong home studio of students which she has started growing here as well, and taught cello and chamber music at the UT String Project (Austin), the Austin Chamber Music Center, the Orpheus Academy of Music (Austin) where she organized monthly cello choir gatherings and Oakridge Music Studios in Vancouver.  In the summer of 2007 she co-founded the Northwest Hills Chamber Music Festival for young string musicians and pianists in Austin.

She is often called upon to hold sectionals and judge festivals at various institutions, including the University of Texas String Project, the Association of Christian Schools International Solo and Ensemble Festivals, the Delta Youth Orchestra and the Vancouver Academy of Music.

Testimonials:
"You did excellent work turning our daughter into a real musician.  You let her emotion and musical playing shine
through while steadily improving technique over the years.  She's very ready now to go on to the college level."
- Father of Natalie, 18

"My daughter started cello lesson with Ms.Ragno when she was only 4 years old. She asked to take cello lessons,
so we took her to Janelle and didn't expect that would last since she was so young. To our surprise, she did well
and finished over half of Suzuki book 1 in less than a year. Janelle and her husband Andrew are excellent teachers
with children. Janelle is very patient, clear and inspiring. She also provides a lot of opportunities and support
for group practice and frequently announces concerts or events that appropriate for young audiences.  Janelle is a
fabulous cellist and cello instructor. I would highly recommend her to any kids that want to learn cello. We surely
miss her a lot. Hope she does well with her new studio in Canada."
- Mother of Erin, 4